Dallas Mavericks: Grading J.J. Barea’s 2019-2020 season

Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea proved he was healthy after tearing his Achilles. Here is a grade for his production in the 2019-2020 season.

The Dallas Mavericks re-signed J.J. Barea to a one-year veteran minimum contract last offseason. He was ready to embark on his 11 NBA season, but this one had a bit of extra motivation.

Barea suffered a torn Achilles in January 2019. It ended his season and some people questioned if it was career finishing. It would not be the first time that injury put an end to a player’s NBA days. Barea was determined to come back and prove he could still play.

He spent the entire offseason rehabbing. The 35-year-old made his debut in the Mavericks third preseason game. He played 12 minutes and proved he was ready to go when the regular season kicked off.

Coach Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks changed his role, though. Barea was no longer the lead ball-handler in the second unit. He moved more of an emergency option this season. Carlisle would insert him into the game when the Mavs needed some energy or instant offense. Barea responded well despite only appearing in 26 games.

With the NBA season suspended, it provides an opportunity to look back. The games may resume at some point, but over two months have passed already since the last one. The 67 games the Mavericks played will forever be their own season in many ways.

Today, we hand out an offensive and defensive grade for J.J. Barea before assessing his overall production in the 2019-2020 season.

Next: Offensive grade